County staff told the Board that consultants have prepared preliminary option studies for the former GES site (the county’s former elementary campus) and that staff will finalize a non‑judicial space study this fall before issuing an RFP for architecture and design services. The site contains multiple buildings — a two‑story main building, a CTE building with a known occupancy timetable, an octagonal building and an auditorium/kitchen wing — and staff and consultants developed several conceptual uses for combinations of those structures.

Why it matters: The old campus sits close to the county’s courthouse village and could be adapted for county administrative space, community uses, or commercial redevelopment. Board members emphasized they do not want the property repurposed only for more government offices without first vetting economically feasible, community‑oriented alternatives.

Sarah, a county staff member who described the consultant work, said the firm produced layout options that combine different buildings for different uses. The firm evaluated concepts such as a child‑care center co‑located with portions of the school core, restaurant or kitchen reuse in the auditorium wing, hotel concepts (which consultants judged infeasible without using the entire complex), small incubator/shared workspace, and senior living. Sarah said a hotel would require most or all of the campus to be repurposed and that two local hoteliers told staff they did not view the market as supporting a hotel at the site.

Several board members asked that staff present the final space study findings before seeking design bids. One supervisor said the county should not simply convert the property into more administrative offices without considering higher‑and‑better‑use alternatives that could produce revenue or community benefit. Staff said the CTE building will remain in use under lease arrangements for several years and that the consultants were asked to produce practical diagrams showing how staff could be accommodated in some of the spaces if that becomes the county’s chosen path.

Discussion‑only items: Staff had already produced informal options and several mockups; the Board did not direct immediate disposal or sale. Instead, the Board asked staff to finish the consultant space study and then to prepare a procurement package so that, once the Board has reviewed the study, the county can post an architecture/engineering RFP promptly.

Next steps: staff will finalize and present the space study in mid‑fall, then prepare an RFP so the Board can consider design proposals, costs and potential redevelopment options after seeing the final study.